While the school does not have a particular issue with violence, headteacher Stephen Parsons felt the approach would benefit pupils.

"A significant minority of crimes reported to police in Scotland have their roots in domestic violence and that would probably be only the tip of the iceberg," he said.

"In Inverclyde, we would be representative of that and, in that context, we felt it was appropriate for the school to get involved.

"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind we have people in the school who will be victims of domestic abuse as well as those who may have experienced domestic abuse as part of their home life. Anything we do that can address or alleviate that problem would be welcomed."

Principal teacher of English Alison Fanning has been running the programme.

She believes significant progress has already been made and that greater benefits will come in future.

"It is very early in the project, but we have seen great enthusiasm from the older pupils who have been training as mentors, and some changing attitudes," she said.

"There are positive aspects and that has already led to pupils reporting incidents within the school we may not otherwise have heard about. The challenge now is to deliver this programme to the younger pupils, and we will be watching closely to see how it impacts on their attitudes and behaviour."